Card holder



Ap 26, 1955 M. M. ROLLEQTON, SR 2,707,115

CARD HOLDER Filed March 51, 1953 I U L 1NVENTOR,

ATTORNEYS United States Patent CARD HOLDER Moreton Mountford Rolleston, Sr., Atlanta, Ga.

Application March 31, 1953, Serial No. 345,771

1 Claim. (Cl. 281-44) This invention relates to a card holder.

In the reading of meters for utilities, such as gas and electricity, the readings are inserted in books, on loose leafs, or where a machine is used in the computing and final recording, the readings are placed on individual cards which are later processed through the computing and recording machine. It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a holder or box which is small enough in size to be conveniently carried by the meter reader, and at the same time is large enough to hold enough cards for practically one days readings.

Another object of this invention is to provide a holder for meter cards which is so constructed and arranged that the upper card may have the reading inserted thereon when within the holder and such upper card will not slip out of the holder, but may be readily pushed out of the holder after the reading has been inserted thereon. When the upper card has been withdrawn from the holder, this card is inserted in the bottom of the holder and is held against accidental loss. In this manner the original se quence of the cards will be maintained.

A further object of this invention is to provide a holder which includes a removable gate or closure for one end of the holder which will not only permit removal and insertion of the cards, but will in its closed or locking position permit the forcible withdrawal of the upper card.

A further object of this invention is to provide a holder which can be made out of plastic or similar material, and is compact in size and of light weight.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawing and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a holder or receptacle for use in recording meter readings constructed according to an embodiment of this invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawing the numeral designates gen erally a receptacle which is formed of top and bottom walls 11 and 12, respectively, opposite end walls 13 and 14, and opposite side walls 15 and 16.

The top wall 11 is preferably transparent, being formed of plastic or the like and is provided with a relatively large L-shaped opening 17 through which that portion of a card C on which the meter reading is to be inserted is exposed so that the reading of the meter may be applied to the card through the opening 17.

The end wall 14 is formed with upper and lower openings 18 and 19, respectively, and a gate or partial closure 20 is removably disposed on the outer side of end wall 14, being secured in a slot 21 by means of a headed member 22. The headed member 22 is carried by an enlarged U-shaped member 23 which extends across the end wall 14 and partially overlaps the side walls 15 and 16, as indicated at 24.

The closure or gate 20 is provided with a knob 25 so that the closure may be raised upwardly out of the opening or socket 21 to permit the discharge of the cards C in batches, or the insertion of the cards in batches, with respect to the container 10.

As shown in Figure 2, the upper inner edge of the gate or closure 20 is bevelled as indicated at 26 so that when 2,707,115 Patented Apr. 26, 1955 the cards C are pushed out of the receptacle, one at a time, the adjacent outer end of the card C will strike the inclined edge 26 and the card C will then bend upwardly, as shown in Figure 2. The height of the gate or closure 20 is such as to normally prevent the cards from slipping out of the receptacle 10.

The top wall 11 is provided with an elongated opening 27 inwardly from the Lshaped opening 17 so that the uppermost card C may be forced out of the receptacle 10 by inserting the eraser end of a pencil into the opening 27 for engagement with the upper side of the upper card and lateral movement of the card C through the upper opening 18.

The bottom wall 12 of the receptacle is provided with a plurality of upwardly or inwardly offset longitudinal ribs 28 which terminate at one end thereof inwardly from the opening 19, the latter opening being the intake or insertion opening for the cards after the meter reading has been applied thereto.

The ends of the ribs 28 confronting the opening 19 are inclined upwardly and inwardly as indicated at 29 so that a card which is being inserted in the bottom of the receptacle below the pile of cards will readily slide inwardly and wedge itself between the lowermost card and the ribs in order that endwise movement of the card will permit insertion of this lower card into the receptacle.

The wall 16 is provided with a horizontally extending flange 30 and a vertical flange 31 extends from the flange 30. The top wall 10 is formed with a lateral projection 32 which covers the chamber 33 formed by the lateral projection 32 and the flange 31. The offset chamber 33 provides a rest for the hand of the writer when the meter reading is being inserted on the uppermost card C.

The top wall 11 is also provided with an upstanding transversely disposed rib 34 parallel with the end wall 14 and spaced from the outer edge of the opening 17. This upwardly olfset rib or bead 34 provides an additional rest for the hand of the person inserting the reading on the card C.

In the use and operation of this device, the cards C are initially inserted into the receptacle 10 by withdrawing the gate or closure 20 from the socket 21. The cards C may then be inserted in groups and in sequence of the route to be taken by the reader. Normally the receptacle 10 is substantially filled with the cards so that the uppermost card will be closely adjacent the top wall 11. The meter reading is then inserted on the card C through the opening 17, whereupon the uppermost card is then removed from the receptacle by inserting the eraser end of a pencil in the opening 27 and pushing the upper card C to the right. Movement of the upper card C to the right will cause this card to bend upwardly over the top of the gate 20, as shown in Figure 2.

This card is then inserted into the bottom of the receptacle through the opening 19, as shown in Figure 2. The procedure of removal and reinsertion of the cards will maintain the cards in their original sequence so that these cards can then be passed through the punching machine which will punch the meter readings and the cost of the utility indicated by such reading.

By having a receptacle as hereinbefore described, the cards will not drop out of the openings 18 and 19 so that the cards will not readily become lost and will always be maintained in their original sequence. The receptacle hereinbefore described is preferably formed out of plastic or other suitable material which will be light in weight and of relatively small size, the size of the receptacle depending on the size of the cards which are to be inserted therein.

I do not mean to confine myself to the exact details of construction herein disclosed, but claim all variations falling within the purview of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A card holder for use in recording meter readings comprising a receptacle having top, bottom, opposite end and opposite side walls, one of said side walls being provided with an off-set portion forming a hand grip, one of said end walls having upper and lower openings, a removable closure carried by said one end wall having the upper end thereof spaced from the adjacent edge of said top wall and in substantially the same plane as the top wall whereby to normally hold cards against discharge from the upper opening, said top wall having a relatively large opening whereby the meter reading may be inserted on the upper card, said top also having a longitudinal opening whereby an instrument may be projected through the latter opening to thereby move the top card outwardly through said upper opening, said top wall being formed with an external transverse rib forming a finger grip and a plurality of longitudinal inwardly projecting concavo-convex ribs carried by said bottom wall, the ends of said ribs terminating inwardly of said one end wall, and the upper sides of said ribs being substantially coplanar with the upper edge of said lower opening to thereby normally hold the lowermost card against discharge from said lower opening, said ends of said ribs being inclined upwardly 15 2,653,038

erris. EP

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 839,201 Richter Dec. 25, 1906 1,535,997 Holansky Apr. 28, 1925 1,826,991 Carrol et a1 Oct. 13, 1931 2,355,299 Johnson Aug. 8, 1944 2,532,053 Bickel Nov. 28, 1950 2,538,084 Collins Jan. 16, 1951 Dyer Sept. 22, 1953 

